


Of Empty Ring Boxes and Frozen Yogurt

by orphan_account



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: M/M, i'll tag this later idc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 22:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20241823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Hanschen picks Ernst up for a date, where basically they just have a good time around town.  it's pretty lit, until it's not.





	Of Empty Ring Boxes and Frozen Yogurt

**Author's Note:**

> have a good time, pal.
> 
> By the way, i KNOW that this switches between being incredibly slow and incredibly fast-paced with no in-between, but it's 3:04am so cut me some slack.
> 
> this is not very good.

Ernst stared at his reflection in the mirror, his nose three inches from making contact with the cool glass surface. He scanned over his face, searching for any noticeable imperfection. Not that he'd be able to do anything about it if he found something, he'd just stress out until Hanschen arrived and it wouldn't matter. Hanschen doesn't care. There were many a time when he showed up looking like shit and Ernst didn't care, so why would Hans care if he had some light shadows under his eyes or an acne spot on his chin? _Use logic, Ernst._

He stepped back, giving his outfit a once-over and deciding it was fine. One more glance at his face. His hair was kind of messy. _It'll be fine._ _Hanschen won't care_.

Ernst frowned at his reflection, the sight of his slightly unneat hair becoming unbearable fast. He quickly dug through his drawer, grabbed his comb, and ran it through his hair twice. Okay, _now_ he was ready.

Ernst grabbed his phone and went out to the living room, plopping down on the sofa. He couldn't stop his leg from shaking as he fidgeted with his phone. Why did he always do this before Hanschen came to pick him up? Freak himself out, worried about absolutely nothing. He just wanted Hans to get there already.

When his phone finally buzzed with the telltale 'I'm here' text from Hanschen, he practically jumped out of his sitting position, regretting it almost immediately when a big head rush followed. He shoved his phone in his back pocket, feeling his other pocket for his key, and walked to the front door. Taking a deep breath as he opened it, he smiled. This was gonna be fun. He walked out to Hanschen's car, closing the door behind him. 

Hans watched Ernst making his way down the driveway to his car, and signed a 'How's it going?' as soon as Ernst opened the door.

'Pretty good, what about you?' Ernst signed back.

Hanschen frowned, signing 'I'm alright' and then put his hands on the wheel, signaling the end of the conversation. He may not look like the most careful guy from an outside perspective, but when driving he would take any and all precautions- seatbelts for everyone, two hands on the wheel, never driving even a mile above or below the speed limit, and eyes always on the road. The rest of the group just decided that he must have had some kind of accident before, but he never talked about it. Maybe he was just really cautious on the road.

They drove without any more conversation for about 20 minutes before stopping at some park.

Ernst got out of the car and stretched dramatically. When he stood up straight again, Hanschen was standing by him, smiling. Ernst smiled back. 'So what are we doing?'

Hanschen shrugged. 'Honestly I didn't have a plan, I just figured we would hang out and that was the farthest I got.'

'Got it, let's do this!' Ernst clapped his hands together, and they began their journey of "hanging out" in town.

They first walked into some fancy jewelry store. As soon as Ernst entered, he could feel the "unless you're a wealthy 40-year-old, you don't belong here" vibe. Maybe this wasn't the best place to start with. The whole place smelled of vanilla and pretentiousness. The lady behind the counter eyed the two teens suspiciously, and Hanschen made hard eye contact with her until she looked back at her magazine with a stiff frown.

Ernst walked to the back, where there was a big shelf of ring cases. He picked out a random one, a dark blue velvet box, opening it up. What he expected would contain at least a cool-looking ring was just... empty. He frowned and put the case back, picking out another one. A sleek white case. When he opened it, that one was empty too! He picked the third one, hoping that this wasn't just a pathetic shelf of empty ring cases that were being sold for $49.99 each. _Nope_. Ernst reached behind himself to tap Hanschen on the shoulder, but his hand just brushed air. He turned around and saw Hanschen a few meters over admiring some necklaces.

Ernst made his way to Hanschen and tapped him on the shoulder, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the case full of useless expensive empty ring boxes, signing 'Pick one!'

Hanschen looked at him in confusion, before picking out a dark red one with rounded edges. He opened it up. Ernst watched as a small flicker of confusion crossed his face. Hanschen looked back at Ernst. 'What do you need an empty ring box for?'

'Exactly!' Ernst signed back, 'And look, they're fifty dollars each! Who needs to buy a ring holder for fifty dollars?'

They looked back at the lady behind the counter, who wasn't trying to hide the fact that she was glaring at them. Ernst rolled his eyes. They were just looking at ring cases, could she calm down?

Hanschen frowned. 'Are you bored too?'

'I mean, I guess,' signed Ernst, shrugging.

Hanschen grabbed his hand again, pulling a surprised Ernst out of the shop into the summer heat. Ernst laughed as Hanschen power walked to the building next door, a frozen yogurt place called 'Let's Spoon!'. He smiled at the cheesy name.

Ernst and Hanschen got their yogurt. Ernst got a fair amount of chocolate/vanilla swirl yogurt and loaded it with any and all sugary toppings that he thought might go with it. Hanschen, however, had a different approach. He got a lot of birthday cake flavored yogurt and added some rainbow sprinkles and graham cracker crumbs. Scandalous. Both Hanschen and Ernst ended up eating more of the other's than their own, both hoping the other wouldn't notice.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by after that. After they got their frozen yogurt, it seemed like it was a bit easier to just have a good time. Maybe it was just because they'd both just ingested a big and sudden wave of sugar, maybe it was because they weren't looking at super expensive, boring ring cases anymore, but everything just seemed easier. More laid back.

It wasn't long before the sun began to set. Ernst sighed. 'Do you think we should go back now?'

'Yeah, it's going to be a long walk though,' Hanschen signed back, a shadow of a smile on his lips.

They walked on the pavement in the fading sunlight. Ernst relished the warmth and soft light of the setting sun, almost closing his eyes, before he felt Hanschen squeeze his hand. When he looked at his face, he expected to see Hanschen smiling at him, but instead saw Hanschen looking straight forward with his jaw set.

Ernst looked back forward, mostly confused, but he could feel Hanschen start to walk a bit faster. Ernst quickened his own pace to match up with his boyfriend's, signing with one hand 'What's wrong?'

Hanschen didn't answer, still keeping his eyes straight forward. Ernst looked down at the ground in front of his feet. He frowned. 'Are you okay?'

Hanschen still didn't answer, accelerating the pace more. Finally he signed back a quick 'Walk faster.'

Ernst, still confused, did what Hanschen said, and eventually they were doing what could only be described as scuttling down the street. As soon as they reached a building that was open, which happened to be some antique salt lamp shop, Hanschen let go of Ernst's hand.

'Go inside and wait, okay? Don't come back out, I'll come and get you. Okay?'

Ernst nodded, understanding what was probably going on. He made his way to the door of the salt lamp place, turning around to see what was going on before he entered.

He saw Hanschen standing in front of... some guy. The first thing Ernst noticed was the way Hanschen was standing. It was his defensive stance, Ernst had noticed Hanschen with it in most situations where he was highly uncomfortable and trying too hard not to show it. For example, the time Hanschen invited Ernst over to meet his parents and brother, who all seemed to be highkey biphobic. That night was _tense_.

The second thing Ernst noticed was that this was obviously not a pleasant conversation between two old pals. He could see Hanschen becoming more and more frustrated in the argument. It seemed like he just wanted the other guy to leave. But the other guy just seemed to be unbothered. He actually seemed very passive. Not good passive. Sort of like those people you see online that are like "I'm right because I say I'm right, I refuse to let anyone alter my perspective."

Ernst could see Hanschen's hands ball into tight fists. That was when he decided not to let this escalate. If he just left it, someone would _definitely_ be punched, and that would _definitely_ not end well. He quickly walked to where Hanschen was standing and looking slightly up at this irritating stranger, and tugged his arm. Ernst pulled Hanschen away from this guy before anything else could happen.

Problem solved! Ernst was about to start walking with Hanschen to his car, when he suddenly felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back. When Ernst turned around to see who grabbed him, he wasn't surprised to see it was the motherfucker who had been arguing with Hanschen. I mean, what else did he expect? That this guy would just let the conversation drop?

Ernst found himself staring at this guy as he screamed something at him. Was he terrified? _Fucking absolutely_. The guy kept screaming, but he looked really stupid. Ernst could smell his breath. _Disgusting_. That was when he realized just how close this guy actually was to him. He probably looked like an idiot. Why wasn't he reacting worse? This guy was so close, he was actually terrifying, was it just adrenaline? The guy waved his hand directly in front of Ernst's face, snapping his attention back. Ernst took a step back. _Get out of the situation, get out, walk away_-

Suddenly, the guy grabbed Ernst's ear and pulled him forward. Ernst could tell this guy was yelling in his ear, he could feel his disgusting spit spray. But that didn't matter, it fucking hurt. The man had an iron grip on his ear- he gets it, he's deaf, fucking let go _please random guy_-

That was when Hanschen decked the man in the face.

Ernst stumbled back when the man let go of his ear. He was mostly just in shock- his ear hurt, he didn't know what was really going on, but mostly? he was just scared. He could feel tears in his eyes, blinking them back quickly. Hanschen just looked pissed.

Ernst watched as Hanschen punched the guy again and screamed something at him. Before he could fully process what was going on now, Ernst felt Hanschen grab his hand roughly and start walking away.

He tried to process what had just happened while they walked. Obviously he knew what happened, it was just so fast. _God_.

Before he knew it, they were back at Hanschen's car and it was dark out. Ernst was about to walk to the passenger side and just have that be it, but Hanschen didn't let go of his hand. He looked at Hanschen's face and saw actual tear tracks by his eyes. Hanschen let go of Ernst's hand, turning his whole body to face him.

And then Hanschen pulled him into a hug. It wasn't awkward, it felt like something that both of them needed. Ernst was vaguely aware of tears coming out of his eyes now, but Hanschen was holding him so tight, it was a real cheesy scene.

When Ernst pulled away, Hanschen did not look any better. He looked exhausted and upset and sorry. Why did he look sorry? Ernst found himself signing a simple 'Are you okay?'

Hanschen shook his head. He paused, thinking of something to sign. 'You...' He paused again. 'You know when you pulled me away from that asshole, and then he started yelling at you instead?' Ernst nodded. Hanschen paused again.

'I almost-' he seemed to be thinking again. Ernst was just wondering what could take so long, was it that bad?

Hanschen continued his signing. 'I saw how easy it would have been to just leave. And I almost did.'

Oh.

_oh_.

Ernst was quick to reply. 'It's okay though, because you didn't leave and everything ended up fine.'

Hanschen shook his head violently. 'No, it's not okay!' His signing was fast and violent now. 'What if I had left you? What would have happened? I would never leave you, but I got an actual urge. And I'm sorry. But then he grabbed you and I knew that I wouldn't just walk away, because what kind of asshole would do that?' He stopped.

Ernst waited for a second, before seeing that Hanschen was finished. 'Probably a big one?' he signed back.

Hanschen laughed. But Ernst could see in his eyes that he wasn't actually in a very funny mood. Ernst pulled him back into another hug, totally catching him off guard. But Hanschen hugged back, and everything was okay for the six seconds it lasted.

'I should probably get you back home, huh? It's probably almost...' Hanschen pulled his phone out of his back pocket and checked the time. 'Nine o'clock. Wow, it's a lot earlier than I thought.'

Ernst shrugged. 'I mean, I'm pretty tired anyway.'

Hanschen nodded. 'Lemme unlock the car.'

He left to go to the other side of the car, and unlocked it. He and Ernst both got in, driver and passenger, Hanschen started the car, and that was that.

And Ernst, half-asleep and staring out the window as they drove, did feel when Hanschen took one of his hands off the wheel to hold his hand. 

**Author's Note:**

> Did i get bored and lose my motivation halfway through writing this and then just bullshit my way through to the end? you bet.


End file.
